


Downfall

by River_Melody_Pond



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Altered chronology, Changed Dates, Dark Magic, Death Eaters, F/M, First War with Voldemort, Post-First War with Voldemort, Seer, curse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:13:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9580016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/River_Melody_Pond/pseuds/River_Melody_Pond
Summary: On the eve of the First Wizarding War, a Seer, descendant of Cassandra Trelawney, curses the Dark Lord. The curse dictates that the love of a woman will bring his Downfall! And so, the life of Bellatrix Black changes for the worse...





	1. Little Black Dress

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> I hope you will enjoy reading my little story! The plan is to post a chapter per week, ideally on Saturday/Sunday.
> 
> It is important to know that I played around with the dates. Thus:
> 
> \--- Tom Riddle was born on December 31st, 1936.  
> \--- Bellatrix Black was born on December 25th, 1951.  
> \--- Bellatrix's father, Cygnus Black, was born in 1920, while her mother, Druella Black, was born in 1930.  
> \--- Bellatrix's sisters, Andromeda and Narcissa, were born in 1955, respectively 1960.
> 
> The present time of the first chapter is 1976, but this will advance along with the story.

He apparated on the meadow of his Dark Manor’s courtyard, surrounded by a thick cloud of black smoke. With an angry twist of the wand, the Dark Lord dispelled the smoke and propelled the Manor’s front doors opened. He rushed inside with loud and heavy steps, heading straight upstairs. Without glancing at it once, the Dark Lord walked past her bedroom’s door and stopped in front of his own. His thin long fingers curled around the snakehead handle. A twist of the wrist and the door opened wide, without resistance.

 

Voldemort’s green eyes glared towards his black canopy bed. It was not empty – and it has not been empty for years! With an uncontrollable ire ever growing, the Dark Lord tried to remember the last time she had not been there. Stepping inside his bedroom, he carefully closed the door behind him. The truth was that he could no longer remember life before her. For several long seconds, he looked at her sleeping peacefully, but then he hurried to reach the edge of the bed. Without blinking, he pointed his wand towards her temple.

 

“Avada Ked…” A mere whisper before his eyes fell on the sensual movement of her bare breasts. Oblivious to any danger, Bellatrix’s calm breathing prompted her chest to rise and fall at a perfectly even rate. The seconds ticked away, with his wand pointed still towards her head. Naked beneath the black satine. Sound asleep.

 

Despite himself, Voldemort sighed. A psychopath, a murdered, his trained assassin – for Merlin’s sake! And she was sleeping like the most innocent of angels.

 

“Avada…” This time, before even getting the chance to finish muttering his curse, Bellatrix yawned and graciously stretched her body. She wrinkled her petite nose and simply rolled on her belly, spreading herself over two thirds of their… _his!!!_ bed.

 

“Avada...” Voldemort lowered his wand. Years! Years… so many years of training and continuous efforts, and the useless witch could not feel a wand pointed at her temple?!? How was that even possible? Naturally, the only possible answer was that he had overestimated her! She was definitely not as exceptional as he once thought…

 

“Avada Ked…”

 

 _“Mr. Riddle…”_ Cygnus Black’s deep, authoritative and highly aristocratic voice called from afar. Voldemort closed his eyes, his mind momentarily flooded with the memories of when he saw Bellatrix Black for the first time.

 

 _“Mr. Riddle…”_ It was the summer of 1961 and, at that time, Lord Cygnus Black was the heir apparent of the Minister of Magic. The man was a peculiar one, like there was no other! Tall and slender, with eyes and hair as black as the pits of hell. Irreproachably clean shaved and unmistakable in his expensive tails, one could always find Cygnus Black arrogantly puffing a thick and impossibly aromatic cigar.

 

_“Mr. Riddle, I am sure you understand the paramount importance of popularising The Cause without attracting anyone’s suspicion.”_

 

_“Lord Black, I do understand. However, I do believe The Cause is advancing unacceptably slow. All I am advocating for is a more energetic approach. Can’t the Minister of Magic just…”_

 

_“Energetic is not an adjective anyone would ever correlate with Lord Lestrange, Mr. Riddle.” Cygnus commented on a lower voice._

 

With half a smile threatening his lips, Voldemort remembered the simple days of 1961. At that time, Lord Remus Lestrange Sr. was still the Minister of Magic – and that being said it meant that the one in control of the Ministry was in fact his wife. The Lestrange family was the richest and most influential family in the wizarding world – a true political dynasty. Autocratic, yet obsessed with the rule of law.

 

_“Indeed, my Lord Black. I am well aware of this fact. I attended school with Remus Lestrange, the junior. He was quite a few years older than me – but I do remember, vividly, how all the Slytherin lads ridiculed the passive Lord Lestrange and commented on the matriarchal terror of Lady Lestrange…”_

 

 _Cygnus nodded. “Then, Mr. Riddle, you do understand how important discretion is until the time comes for me to replace Remus in the Ministry. Leta Lestrange must continue trusting me completely! The Cause has a great enemy in Leta, as her loyalty lies with integration and white magic policies before anything else. Old debts to be paid – everyone knows her history. Guilt took the best of the mad young witch who sought to research deadly beasts in order to kill Muggles. Her principles were altered permanently after the death of Scamander’s family and now she is utterly incorruptible. Her own children believe blood purity is an abomination! If she managed to preach such principles in the Lestrange family, you can imagine she would never preach anything else to the wider population! I know you worry more about Hogwarts. I am aware that Dippet’s days as Headmaster are_ reaching _their end and the time of Albus Dumbledore is approaching. I do, I honestly do understand your urgency, Tom. I understand you desperately need the Cause to gain roots before Dumbledore’s accession, but! – and it is an important but, my dear boy – Leta Lestrange is more dangerous than Dumbledore will ever be. She is the effective Minister of Magic and she will never support the abolishment of The International Statute of Secrecy. Leta’s notorious convictions on blood purity are now a mere memory of past days. More than that, Leta is the only one who knows where Scamander's real 'Fantastic Beasts' treatise is hidden. Leta Lestrange is more powerful than you give her credit. Please, listen to me and be patient._ _If I lose Leta's complete trust and blind support, I lose my chance at being the next Minister. And that will bring a long-term delay in your plans. We cannot afford this, Tom… not now when Remus’s health is so poor…”_

 

_The young man sighed: “My Lord Black, I do… I do understand that I need to be patient and I deeply appreciate your formidable political support and the financial efforts you are making for the Cause, but…”_

 

_“PAPA! NooooooooooNoooo! PAPAAA! AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAA” A high pitched screech distracted both men. Cygnus rolled his eyes and sighed, while the 25 years old Tom Riddle turned his head towards the window._

 

_Cygnus shook his head and cleared his voice: “Mr. Riddle, patience is a noble quality… we need Leta far away from the Ministry. But this needs to happen as natural as possible. Through a peaceful transition of power to the heir she chose and supports. Once I am the Minister of Magic, the rule of the Lestranges is over. Leta is an aristocrat after all. Once her husband retires, her reign is over as well. Powerful as she is, she is still only a woman. And she will never be able to get a position of power in her own name…”_

 

_“PAPAAA! PAAAAPAAAAA! BELLA… STOP! STOP! PAPAAAA!”_

 

_Tom’s gazed continued to be fixated on the window, as the screams would not stop. After several long seconds in which both men stood still, silently listening to the torment cries of a child, Cygnus gave in and stood up from his armchair._

 

_“If you will excuse me for a moment…” Cygnus Black, with his mood visibly aggravated, placed his cigar in the golden ashtray and disapparated without further ado. Curiosity prompted Tom to stand up and walk towards the window as soon as his host left him alone._

 

_As assumed, the source of the screams was a child – a small brown-haired girl, who had her legs and arms tied to a wooden pole. Tom frowned, commending his eyes to understand the scene unfolding on the green meadow of the Black Manor. Unable to comprehend with reasonable precision what was going on, he used his wand to bring the scene closer to himself. The binocular spell, which often proved beneficial during the Hogwarts years, worked immediately. Helped by the spell, Tom could see and hear everything as clearly as though standing right there, on the green grass._

 

_A small brown-haired girl was standing with her hands up, indeed tied to a wooden pole… tied with snakes. One large black snake was curled from her ankles all the way up to the knees. Her stretched up arms had their wrists tied together by at least three smaller snakes – all having their scales dangerously coloured in shades which indicated lethal venom. The child was paralyzed with fear – she made no movement, besides a dramatic shedding of tragic tears and the continual screeching._

 

_“Bellatrix!” Cygnus accused as soon as he materialized on the meadow. As if on a cue, Tom’s attention drifted from the brown-haired girl to the other one. Slightly older, the second girl had her head covered in a mane of black curls and, on her lips, a thin and dangerous smile. She was wearing a most precious little black dress. Although she did not seem to have reached her Hogwarts age quite yet, the naughty girl had a wand pointed towards the other child._

 

_“My dearest Papa!” Bellatrix replied nonchalantly, making no effort at lowering the wand._

 

_“Expelliarmus! Where did you steal that from? Again!!!” Cygnus demanded to know, while effortlessly catching the girl’s wand._

 

_“I got it from Miss Fitzroy, Papa. From where else?” Bellatrix smiled._

 

_“You are NOT allowed to have a wand! You are too young for a wand… and far too reckless! How many times do I have to tell you to stop torturing your sisters?” Cygnus flicked his wand twice, immediately releasing his younger daughter from the snakes’ tangle._

 

_“But Papa, we were merely playing…”_

 

_Cygnus ignored her and hurried to clean the dirt from his younger daughter’s mudded dress. The child was now crying even more uncontrollably, in release._

 

_“What have you done to her?” The father demanded to know while pulling his distressed child up in his arms and holding her close._

 

_“Nothing much, Papa. You were indeed fast to free her today…” Bellatrix giggled._

 

_“Bellatrix! This is not a game…”_

 

_“But Papa… of course it is a game! We were merely playing, I promise! It is hardly my fault that Andromeda is such a cry-baby! And she is definitely too imbecile to understand the rules of the game! We were merely playing, Papa. I mean, the snakes did not even bite her… this time… right?” Bellatrix fluttered her long eyelashes and Cygnus noticeably struggled not to crack a smile while looking at his eldest daughter._

 

_“WE WERE NOT PLAYING!” Andromeda cried._

 

_“Yes, of course we were!” Bellatrix rolled her pitch-black eyes._

 

_“Papa… Papa, we were not… not playing!” Andromeda pleaded clinging to her father’s neck. Cygnus sighed and tried to caress his child’s hair while whispering her fear away._

 

_“Shh… shh… it’s alright, Meda. Bellatrix did not mean to hurt you and she is really sorry that the game upset you…” Cygnus tried._

 

_“No, I am not sorry at all!” Bellatrix frowned._

 

_“YOU ARE CRAZY!” Andromeda screamed burying her face deeper in her father’s shoulder._

 

_“Andromeda… calling your sister crazy is not acceptable! That is a very ugly word and it is not at all the truth. Don't force me to make you apologize to Bellatrix, Meda. Now, where is Miss Fitzroy, Bellatrix?”_

 

_Up in the rococo study room of Cygnus Black, Tom frowned. It surprised him how the father immediately scolded Andromeda for calling her sister 'crazy' , while no comment had been made when Bellatrix called Andromeda 'an imbecile'. Not to mention how Cygnus nearly asked the victim to apologize to her tormenter, while the opposite never crossed his mind._

_“Where is Mother, Bellatrix?”_

 

_“Visiting Grandpapa with the nameless baby.”_

 

_“She is not nameless… her name is Narcissa, Bellatrix. Honestly, where is Miss Fitzroy? And how did you steal her wand again?” Cygnus frowned, but he maintained a calm and even voice. Despite the obvious fact that his eldest daughter stole a wand and tortured her younger sister, the father gave no clue of intending to punish her misbehaviour in any way. Someone was definitely the favourite child._

 

_Bellatrix smiled a crazy smile, but did not answer._

 

_“What did you do to the poor woman this time?” Cygnus growled in exasperation._

 

_“She is only throwing up snails upstairs in the bathroom… she will be fine in a couple of hours, honestly.”_

 

_“BELLATRIX!” Cygnus hissed at his troublesome daughter._

 

_“I was bored, Papa! Honestly! It's not a big deal... I was just bored and I decided I wanted to play a little... no reason to get so upset.” She whispered. Cygnus sighed and let Andromeda down from his arms._

 

_“Meda, run and check if Miss Fitzroy is feeling better.” The small girl nodded and ran away from her sister as fast as she could. Cygnus shook his head in disbelief, returning his full attention towards his eldest. He knelt in front of her and moved a hand to her face, caressing her white cheek:_

 

_“Bellatrix… my precious darling, why can’t you play nicer? Mother will come home soon, your governess will certainly tell her what you did and Mother will unleash hell on you, as always! Do you really enjoy being punished all the time, Bella?”_

 

_“Bellatrix, never call me Bella again!” The child frowned._

 

_"I am sorry, love... Papa did not mean it." Cygnus leaned in and kissed her cheek. Bellatrix smiled and then sighed._

 

_“I do not enjoy being punished all the time. I do not enjoy it at all... but_ _it is hardly my fault that Mother hates me so much, Papa.”_

 

_Cygnus sighed. “She does not hate you, Bella trix. She is merely… not very content that you are misbehaving and hurting your sisters. You torture Andromeda on a daily basis and you pretend Narcissa does not exist, or if you acknowledge her existence you pretend you do not know her name. Sweetie, I understand that your sisters are… mediocre, at the very best, but we cannot just get rid of them, can we?”_

 

_“Well…”_

 

_“No, Bellatrix! No. We cannot! Look, darling, I love you very much and I am trying to help you. But I cannot be with my eyes on you all the time! It is not Papa’s duty to teach you what is permitted and what is prohibited. Papa is terribly busy with the Ministry of Magic. Papa has very important responsibilities and your education is not one of them! Just listen to your governess and stop giving her hard times! And listen to your Mother, because when you will grow older you will understand how she always has your best interest in mind.”_

 

_“It is because I am a girl…” Bellatrix whispered._

 

_“Pardon?” Cygnus frowned._

 

_Two big tears fell down her white porcelain cheeks: “My education is not your responsibility because I am a girl… I am just a girl… You love me, but I do not matter in this world… do I, Papa?”_

 

“Avada Ked…” Voldemort whispered - but then he lowered his wand, again, and sighed.

 

It was not that he could not kill her. He could do it – and he could do it effortlessly. Killing her was not the issue… her education was! She was quite easily the most capable witch alive – apart from himself, and Leta, and Dumbledore – perhaps. The amount of training and knowledge he had invested into Bellatrix Black throughout the years was simply impossible to dispose of! She was his most valuable asset! She was the Commander of his army! She was his shield! His weapon! His pet! His only absolute property… she was his.

 

The Seer was wrong!!! She had to be wrong! There wasn’t any other feasible explanation. Bellatrix Black could not be the one to bring his Downfall. The curse was wrong – there had to be another way, a way that did not involve killing his second in command.


	2. Pick a book and read

Lost in his thoughts, Voldemort left the bedroom without even glancing at her again, and headed towards his study room. The Seer was wrong. She had to be wrong!

 

Placing his wand on the mahogany desk, the Dark Lord remained standing. His gaze fixated on the countless shelves of ancient books of Dark Magic and Dark Arts which covered the entirety of his study room’s walls. Somewhere in there – somewhere in those books a solution had to exits!

 

_"The Love of a Woman will bring your Downfall. You, the one who cannot be loved, you will fall because of Love. Her Love will be the end you… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…”_

 

The words of the Seer kept on dancing in his mind. Before the green lightning strike of the Killing Curse silenced her, the Seer spoke of a forthcoming Prophecy. Her words were not the Prophecy… they were the curse to precede and complement the Prophecy.

 

“Her love… her love will end you…” Voldemort whispered. His eyes stopped on the empty golden cage which stood elegantly on the right side of his desk. “What will I do with you, Bellatrix? Your useless love is threatening everything we’ve worked for...”

 

With a hardly noticeable movement of his fingers, Voldemort summoned an ancient tome from the uppermost shelf. He opened the large volume on his palms and walked to his desk. The pages of the tome started turning by themselves, but immediately stopped when a letter fell on the floor. The Dark Lord carefully placed the book on the desk, before bending to reach for the letter.

 

_“Hogwarts_

_September 2 nd, 1962. _

_My Lord,_

_I am writing to you – not out of a selfish desire to waste your time – but merely to let you know that the Sorting Hat needed less than one second to place me in Slytherin! I have always known where I belong, but the certainty of it pleases my heart more than anything else. Are you proud of me, My Lord?_

_With eternal loyalty,_

_Bella.”_

 

Voldemort shook his head in disbelief, eyes still fixated on the old letter. Oh, that pretentious little brat!

 

As if on a cue, the powerful sound of flapping wings filled the air around him. He growled, and immediately hid the letter in his desk’s drawer – as a majestic black bird flew inside the study room. The bird circled the room several times, before resting on the top of the golden cage.

 

“You are not allowed to fly indoors, Bellatrix.” Voldemort hissed. “I once told you I will teach you what your Mother failed to – manners! For the sake of your own life, pretend I succeeded.” The bird flew from the top of the cage and Bellatrix landed on the armchair opposite to his desk – a perfect Animagus transfiguration in all its glory. From the black feathers of his pet Augurey to black lace of… – his eyes rested immediately on her nipples.

 

“What are you reading, My Lord?” She asked leaning over the desk. Voldemort placed his hand on the book, before she was able to pull it towards herself.

 

“Go back to bed, Bellatrix. I am busy!”

 

_“What are you reading?” He heard a whisper. Tom raised his head from the book and glanced towards the source of the soft voice. Cygnus’s oldest daughter was peeking through the slightly opened door. “Can I come in?” She whispered again._

 

_“Why are you whispering?” Tom frowned._

 

_Bellatrix lifted her little shoulders casually: “I am hiding from Mother, My Lord.” His heart skipped a beat at the way in which she addressed him. The child was naturally accustomed to having only aristocrats and titles around her… but to be called a Lord? Oh, he loved that! He could get used to that. Lord sounded good._

 

_“Come in, child.” Tom gestured with one hand. “But keep quiet. I am busy!”_

 

_“Thank you, My Lord.” Her smile was larger than her face. Bellatrix hurried to close the library’s door behind her and walked towards his desk on the tip of her toes, making utterly no sound. Once she was closer to where he was seated, she bowed so deeply that Tom could not help but wonder if she would eventually hit the floor with her petite aristocratic nose._

 

_“I am Bellatrix Black, My Lord. I wanted to meet you for so long…”_

 

_“Is this so, child?” Tom frowned._

 

_Bellatrix straightened from her ridiculous bow and nodded her head frantically. “Absolutely, My Lord!”_

 

_“Your Lord? Who exactly do you think I am?”_

 

_Bellatrix looked at him utterly befuddled: “You are… our Master, My Lord. The Heir of Slytherin and the Saviour of the Wizardly World?”_

 

_Tom smirked, drunk at the thought that the progeny of one of the wealthiest and most powerful aristocrats considered him – a penniless orphan – to be the Master of them all. Alas, being the Master of all the Wizardly World was what he aimed for. But now, in 1962, at the age of 26, that aspiration was still far from its fulfilment._

 

_“You seem to be a very precocious little child, Bella…” Remembering how Bellatrix corrected her own father at using a pet name, Tom wanted to provoke her._

 

_“I am not that little.” Bellatrix shook her head, but maintained the smile on her lips. “I even have a wand now!” She added triumphally._

 

_“Oh, is this so? Should I gather that your days of wand stealing are a thing of the past?”_

 

_Bellatrix wrinkled her nose: “Not yet, because Mother took it and I cannot find it. She said I will only get it back next week, once I am already inside the Hogwarts Express, at a safe distance from Meda and nameless bab…”_

 

_A hard knock in the door startled them both, and Bellatrix left her sentence unfinished:_

 

_“Mr. Riddle, may I come in a moment?” Druella Black spoked from behind the door. Bellatrix gasped. Tom looked at the girl’s widened eyes._

 

_“Hurry, hide under my desk.” He whispered and she did not wait to be told twice. “Absolutely, my Lady Black.” Tom said aloud standing from his seat. When the aristocrat entered, he politely bowed his head and smiled at his host._

 

_“I do apologise for disturbing your studies, Mr. Riddle, but I am afraid I cannot find my daughter – Bellatrix.”_

 

_Tom opened his mouth slightly and looked at Druella with an expression of utter confusion: “I thought your children were not allowed in the Black Library, my Lady.”_

 

_“They are not. However, Bellatrix is…” Druella rolled her eyes in a gesture that Tom could only label as pure hatred. “… is more special.” She sighed. “I will be leaving you to your studied… although, I need to check something first.”_

 

_Tom remained silent while Druella walked to one of the massive bookcases. She climbed several steps on the ladder, removed two books and sighed in relief. Druella climbed down, apologised once more to her guest and left the room._

 

_“You can come out now, menace. Hurry and show me your wand. You will find it on the fourth highest shelf of that bookcase, behind the books entitled ‘Excruciating Pain’ and ‘Cruciatus Gurus’. Quite ironical I would say.”_

 

_Bellatrix grinned madly and ran to the bookcase. She climbed the ladder effortlessly and removed the books which were shielding her precious new wand. Once her little hands grasped the wand, Bellatrix did not bother to climbed back down. Completely unbothered by the height, she jumped off, landing on her knees. She stood up, shook the dust off her skirt and ran to him:_

 

_“12 and 3/4 inches! Walnut! With dragon heartstring!” She shouted in delight._

_“Dragon heartstring? So unusual for a…”_

 

_“… girl?” Bellatrix hissed and frowned in quick anger. Tom raised his eyebrows. He’s only seen the child twice in his life – the previous summer, from the window, and now. And, in both occasions, she displayed a strong reaction to the fact that she had not been born a boy. A first born – but not male. Her attitude started making sense. This child was in a quest of proving her worth to a father who adored her, but would never regard her as an heir, and a mother who hardly regarded her as a daughter._

 

_“Pull a chair on the other side of my desk, pick a book from the Elementary Dark Magic section and study. Take parchment from my stash and make notes. In one hour, you can fire away questions with everything you find unclear.”_

 

_Bellatrix frowned: “Why?”_

 

_“Why? Because being a puerile rebel, will bring you nothing in life. If you want to be a rebel, to start revolutions, shake up social conventions – then you have to be an intelligent rebel, Bellatrix. You see, child, you are indeed right – you are a girl! And a spoiled, utterly mannersless one, for that matter. True – the fact that you are a girl places you in a position of serious disadvantage. You have to come at terms with the fact that, without great effort, you will never have all the birth rights a boy has. But that is alright. You see, it is not only girls who lack privileges. Outsiders, like myself, face the same challenges. But you can still achieve everything you wish to, but you need to study! Because you need to cover all your deficiencies with superior knowledge. If you will spend your years in Hogwarts behaving like an entitled aristocrat brat, all you will ever become is someone’s pretty wife. Is that what you want? To be some idiot’s wife, Bellatrix? You do not have to shake your head so desperately, I know you want more from life. So, listen to me, child: study day and night! Read everything you find in the school Library – prohibited sections included, take notes, ask questions and pay attention to all the answers you get – and, if in seven years time you can prove to me that you are the smartest student Hogwarts produced since I graduated, then I will be indeed very proud!”_

 

_“You will be proud? Of me???” Bellatrix asked with her eyes sparkling in awe._

 

_“If you deserve to, yes, I will be proud of you. Now, do as I said: pick a book and read!”_

 

“I can see you are busy, but what are you reading?” Bellatrix insisted. “I want to help.”

 

“I need no help from you, Bellatrix.” Voldemort hissed.

 

“My Lord…” Bellatrix whispered. “What happened? Have I done something to upset you? It did not escape my notice that you contemplated killing me earlier tonight.”

 

Voldemort smiled in spite of himself: “Oh, so you felt that! Good.”

 

“Good? Have you actually questioned my intuition and defence abilities?” Bellatrix frowned, positively offended.

 

“Quite frankly, when you did not even flinch at my wand pointed at your head, I did feel terribly disappointed.”

 

“Oh, My Lord! But I did flinch!” Bellatrix laughed fluttering her long eyelashes. “I rolled from my back onto my belly… as I know how my breasts can distract you!” She purred.

 

“You are being impertinent, Bellatrix. And you know how much I hate it!”

 

“I also know how much you hate it when I am utterly right!”

 

“There, you’re being impertinent again!” Voldemort hissed.

 

“My Love, what’s wrong?” Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

 

Before being able to blink, a red lightning stroke her chest. Bellatrix fell from the armchair and started screaming in excruciating pain. Several long minutes passed before he let go of his Curse. With tears flowing down her cheeks and her heart pumping frantically, Bellatrix curled up in a ball on the floor.

 

“I want you to leave my Manor. NOW!”

 

Bellatrix gasped in shock, and a little yelp left her lips. Despite the pain, she pushed herself up on her knees: “What?”

 

“Pack everything you own and leave! LEAVE! Do not return here and do not contact me in any manner, before otherwise instructed!”

 

“No… No! My Lord… no! I am terribly sorry for whatever it is that I’ve done! I will fix it! I will fix everything! Do not send me away! I cannot leave… What about the Death Eaters, the training?”

 

Another strike of red lightning hit her chest. But this time, it lasted only for a couple of seconds. “None of your business."

 

"My Lord, please..." She begged. “It is my business…”

 

"Karkaroff will replace you as commander of the Elite and the First Rank Death Eaters. And Rookwood will take Karkaroff’s place commanding the Second Ranks."

 

"Rookwood? No, no, no..." Bellatrix stood up in a second and shook her head categorically. "Rookwood cannot do it! I advanced him into the First Ranks only two months ago. He does not have the qualifications and experience needed for training the largest chunk of your army! My Lord, I beg you! Be sensible! Do punish me for whatever it is that I have done, I will never question your motives... ever! I will take my punishment. I am sure I deserve it! But do not sabotage the Death Eaters in the process of punishing my mistakes! I could not bear it!"

 

Voldemort rolled his eyes: "And whom would you choose as commander of the Second Ranks?”

 

“Karkaroff is perfect for the job he’s doing…”

 

“BELLATRIX!” Voldemort raged at her.

 

She rolled her eyes. "If you really want me to leave, and if Karkaroff will take the First Ranks, alright then… be it. I would say Antonin Dolohov, for the Second Ranks, My Lord. He's been a Death Eater from before I even finished Hogwarts. Not only that he is genuinely loyal to you, but he is experienced, very competent, has an agile body and a strong mind. Plus, Dolohov also possesses the authority Rookwood lacks."

 

Voldemort sighed. Who was he fooling? His household would fall apart without her!

 

Bellatrix's departure, in itself, would raise next to no questions. Igor Karkaroff, the old Matryona Rasputina and Cygnus Black were the only three Death Eater who knew the identity of the Augurey. Which led to the real problem – the Augurey! Bellatrix’s departure might be inconsequential, but the departure of the Augurey could irreversibly damage the structures of power in his army. The Death Eaters would want to know what happened to the Animagus who ordered them around.

 

“Then it’s settled. Karkaroff will take your place and Dolohov will take Karkaroff’s. In what the Augurey is concerned, everyone will be told that my faithful pet is the United States, running errands.”

 

Bellatrix nodded and looked down. “I wish I understood…”

 

“There are some things I cannot share with anyone…”

 

“Not even me?” She whispered searching his eyes.

 

“Especially not you, Bellatrix!” Voldemort sighed. “At the moment, I need you as far away as possible from me and my army. Don’t ask questions, just do as you are told.”

 

“Yes, My Lord.” She nodded. With that and a bleeding heart, Bellatrix turned around and left the study room.


End file.
